


Tying the Ends

by ThoughtfulFangirl



Category: MMFR, Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Multi, Polyamory, Post MMFR
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-04-24 08:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4913122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThoughtfulFangirl/pseuds/ThoughtfulFangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max is back at Citadel for the time being, as he tends to come and go. During his visits, he's found that Furiosa and Valkyrie have paired up, but Furiosa has invited Max in, and he spends nights at Citadel with her, and invariably Valkyrie too. He and Valkyrie have co-existed in the relationship, mostly content, but tension finally bubbles to the surface, and the three talk about their arrangement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So people were talking on Tumblr about wanting to see a certain *cough*fantastic*cough* writer do a Furiosa/Valkyrie/Max. Unfortunately, this obviously isn't that. Buut, that conversation sparked this scene in my mind, and I wrote it pretty quickly with minimal revisions/editing. Sorry for the little flangst (fluff/agnst?). Haven't decided if this fits into the canon of the rest of my works here. Iiiif it does, it's set way down the road of anything previously written.

When Max returned from finishing the last preparations on the new War Rig for their run to Gas Town tomorrow, he returned to the sparse but homey alcove-like room that he stayed in with Furiosa and Valkyrie during his stays at Citadel. He’d been here this time longer than usual… longer than he’d expected. So when Toast explained that it was time to re-stock and for the rig to make the trek to Gas Town, Max had decided to assist on the transport. Toast usually went along, but she’d cited other work that needed to be done, effectively ensuring Max offered to take her place. He wondered what work really was so pressing.

As Max entered Furiosa and Valkyrie’s rooms, Valkyrie turned away from a small mirror on the wall with a finger to her lips. Furiosa was curled up on the bed, already asleep. He felt a stab of regret that he hadn’t been there to help coax Furiosa into that sleep.

Quietly, Max began removing his shoes and vest and belt. The dark woman had turned back to that mirror. She was braiding her hair over one shoulder. Max stilled as he realized that seeing this made him feel a prickle of wariness. There was a pattern to Valkyrie braiding her hair. He stared at her for a moment, gauging what this meant. He slowly realized that this is what he saw her do when she was restless or upset, when she was having particular pain from her injuries, or when she felt like Furiosa was stretching herself too thin. She’d braid it up real nice, then comb it back out with her fingers to repeated the process. She couldn’t pace like he or Furiosa did at those times, so perhaps this was her equivalent.

Max padded over to her, listening. Her breathing wasn’t quite right, catching every now and then. But he’d seen her face. She hadn’t been crying.

She turned as he kneeled down next to her. The two of them hadn’t spend much time together, not just the two of them at least. He felt affectionate toward her, but Furiosa bonded them.

He put a hand on her shoulder and raised his eyebrows, his eyes flicking first to her nimble fingers and back to her face. “You okay?” He whispered.

Valkyrie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her fingers flitted self-consciously away from her hair, and she rested one hand on his. He was suddenly surprised at how soft they were. They weren’t much different than the nights and months before, but it suddenly seemed more important.

Val nodded. “I’ll be fine.” She whispered back.

Max cocked his head at her and shifted uncomfortably. What was the matter? “But, you’re not now?”

Valkyrie laughed airily, but it caught. She dropped her hand away and looked into the mirror again. “I get worried when Furiosa leaves for these trips.” She shrugged, and when he just stared at her for a moment, trying to read her, she added. "It's nothing." 

“Did I hear my name?” They both started and looked toward the bed. Max pulled away slighty from Valkyrie, thinking to move toward Furiosa but feeling ashamed for waking her.

Furiosa sat up and rubbed her eyes with her right hand. “What are you two jabbering about?”

“Oh nothing.” Valkyrie replied, pushing her braid over her shoulder to land behind her back, almost as if to conceal what she’d been doing, but Furiosa noticed and her eyebrows drew in. She pushed herself to the end of the bed, close to Valkyrie. Max moved then to sit beside Furiosa on the bed, his body angled toward her, but still shifted enough toward Valkyrie to indicate she had his attention.

“What’s wrong?”

“The transport.” Max offered, seeing that Valkyrie was going to find something else to say, try and divert the topic. “Mm.” He nodded. “She’s worried.” Without looking at him, Furiosa took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“The supply run? To Gas Town?” She addressed Valkyrie. “The buzzards haven’t bothered us in a while, and we finally have Gas Town settled down properly. We shouldn’t run into any major problems.”

“It’s not that.” Valkyrie said. She grabbed up one of her canes she needed in order to walk after the injuries she sustained on the Fury Road and pulled herself to her feet. She shambled to the table on the far side of the room, taking extra long with just the one cane. As she reached it, her fingers traced the design of a gun lying there. It must be her current project as she’d taken to restoring their weapon supply as best she could.

“You miss it.” Max said, suddenly realizing.

Furiosa stood and walked over to Val. Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around her. “I know you do. I know its hard to stay behind too, when I go.” She kissed the part of Valkyrie’s neck her braid exposed. Valkyrie didn’t move.

“It’s not just that.” The dark haired woman’s voice was restrained, and her shoulders tensed as she said it, as if waiting for the blow.

Max stood now as well. He felt like he shouldn’t get involved. It was clear that these two had found a partnership, but when Max would come back to Citadel… “It’s me.” It was Furiosa’s turn to stiffen ever so slightly, but Valkyrie must have felt it, for her head dropped.

“No.” Valkyrie said. “I mean. Yes.” She turned toward Furiosa, the whole movement requiring Furiosa to step back to give her that space. And Furiosa’s arms dropped limply to her side, and she was suddenly standing next to Max. “It’s the comrades in arms thing.” She finally finished with a defeated shrug. “He can be your partner in all things, but I… I can’t ride with you.” She faced them, but didn’t look at them.

Max stepped forward as if to reassure her but stopped. She couldn’t. She could barely get from one place to another without her canes. And there was definitely a certain bond in fighting side by side someone. But it wasn’t always a good bond. Sometimes being too near Furiosa for too long reminded him of the battles they faced, the trauma they suffered… seeing her lie there dying… and he had to get away. But how could he convey that? How could he explain that to her?

Furiosa did then step forward and took Valkyrie back in her arms. Val didn’t stiffen this time, but gave into it, hugging her back and pressing her forehead against Fury’s. “I have you here, Val. Always. And you help me through the day to day. And you warm my bed each night. You remind me of what’s good in the world, of the Green Place, of everything I fight for. You know I love Max. But he… There are things even he can’t do.”

“And.” Max said, before clearing his throat awkwardly, feeling like an intruder. The women turned their eyes on him, and he shifted his weight to his other foot. “There are things. Things you could… give me too. That she…” He jerked his head toward Furiosa. He stepped closer to the women, and when they didn’t draw back, he touched Furiosa’s cheek. “We, we were forged together. In fire. In blood.” Furiosa turned her face into that touch and gave a small nod. “You have my trust. My loyalty. My…” His fingers curled in where they touched Furiosa’s flesh, his other hand pressing against his chest. She gave another slight nod. “But fire and blood. It’s not always easy. Or good.”

Furiosa smiled sadly at him. “I understand.” Max nodded and dropped his hand away from Furiosa so he could turn his attention to Valkyrie.

“But. Hn. If you let me in…” He gestured toward her with his hand, his palm up, fingers curled in.

They both looked at Valkyrie. She gave a short, awkward laugh. “It helps. I still wish I could go with you tomorrow. But it helps.” Max’s fingers twitched in her direction, and when she tentatively reached out her hand to take his, he grinned and jerked her toward him, he and Furiosa catching her in their arms since she wouldn’t be able to catch herself. She let out a laugh of surprise and was whisked back to the bed, laughing with a mixture of joy and embarrassment along the way.

As they came to the bed, Valkyrie looked from one to the other. “I really didn’t mean cause any trouble.” Furiosa propped herself up with her left arm. Her right hand was holding Max’s left in front of Valkyrie’s body, the two caging her in.

“Of course you didn’t. But I’m glad you did.” Her face got serious. “You two are the most important people in the world to me. I’ve experienced losing you both, and I know I can barely live without you. I know you both came together because of me, but if I’m going to get to have you both, you need to have each other as well. It’s the only way this will work. So please. Always trouble me.”

“Us.” Max gave a nod. Valkyrie lifted a hand and let it hover a moment above Max’s head. Tentatively, she slid her fingers into his hair.

“I think, I may be able to let you in.”

Max gave a couple quick nods of his head. “Mm.” He approved.


	2. Tying the Ends - Furiosa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was promted on Tumblr to do a shift of POV for this fic. This second chapter is essentially a re-telling of the first chapter from Furiosa's POV instead of Max's.

Furiosa found herself drifting out of sleep. She was finally to the point where she wasn’t immediately, acutely aware of whatever was waking her, but she still woke easily. She now sometimes had to gauge what had woken her.

She had felt him enter the room, but he normally undressed and came straight to bed. When his presence didn’t shortly follow her sensing him, she found herself waking, and with that was the realization that Valkyrie hadn’t come to bed yet either. She often stayed up later than Furiosa herself, but she usually came to bed shortly after Furiosa.

She was suddenly aware that Valkyrie was speaking. She always seemed to know when either she or Max spoke her name.

“Did I hear my name?” Furiosa asked, pushing herself up by her left arm and pressing against her eyes with her right hand, waking herself up further. “What are you two jabbering about?” Valkyrie was at the small mirror in the room, and Max was kneeling next to her, a look of concern on his face. Valkyrie had been braiding. She couldn’t fall asleep with her hair braided. If she wasn’t doing work where she’d get her hands dirty, she tended to let her hair hang loose. But she did tend to braid as a way to release anxiety.

Furiosa drew the covers of the bed off of her and slid herself to the end of the bed where the small table and Valkyrie were. She drew in toward her. “What’s wrong?” She asked, searching for the woman’s dark eyes, but she wasn’t meeting them. She didn’t answer.

“The transport.” That was from Max. “Mm. She’s worried.” They had been talking before she woke? She kept her eyes on Valkyrie, looking for her reaction, but she acknowledged Max’s words, his attempt to help, by reaching for his hand and giving it a squeeze.

“The supply run?” She asked, trying and finally catching Valkyrie’s eye, even if it was at an angle. “To gas town? The buzzards haven’t bothered us in a while, and we finally have Gas Town settled down.” She released Max’s hand to touch Valkyrie’s shoulder. “We shouldn’t run into any major problems.”

“It’s not that.” Valkyrie said, moving her shoulder so Furiosa’s hand fell away. She grabbed her cane, making Furiosa’s chest tighten. If only she could undo the damage of that fight. She moved herself across the room to the larger table where she mended her weapons. Every slow step sent a tinge of pain through Furiosa. Valkyrie hadn’t gone into that battle on her behalf, but she never would have if it hadn’t been for her. She would still be able to ride, run, dance freely. Her throat closed as she watched her.

“You miss it.” Max spoke the words she found she couldn’t say. It’s not as she may have phrased it, but they rung just right. It prompted Furiosa to finally move. She pushed to her feet and moved over to this woman she had once loved a long time ago and found she did again. She embraced her, pressing her chest to the woman’s back, her arms around her front.

“I know you do.” She said to the woman’s neck, closing her eyes and breathing in her scent. “I know its hard to stay behind too, when I go.” She couldn’t be this close to the woman and not kiss her, so she did so on the woman’s neck, beside the braid that expressed such anxiety. Furiosa herself began to stiffen, however, when Valkyrie didn’t move, didn’t respond.

“It’s not just that.” She finally spoke, her shoulders tensing. Whatever the issue was, this was it. Furiosa kept still, not wanting to distract Valkyrie from continuing her train of thought.

“It’s me.” Max spoke. For a moment, Furiosa was exasperated that he would interrupt this moment, but… Valkyrie’s head lowered. Her shoulders lowered almost in defeat. Had Max, again, spoke for them when they couldn’t say their thoughts themselves?

“No. I mean. Yes.” The woman said, sounding heartbreakingly defeated. Furiosa drew back as Valkyrie moved to turn around. Furiosa didn’t know what to make of this, and she stepped back next to Max mutely. Did she not like this arrangement? Was Max a problem. Furiosa’s chest grew tight. She loved Valkyrie, so much. But she couldn’t let go of Max.

“It’s the comrades in arms thing.” She looked so defeated. Was she going to try and ask Furiosa to chose? Did she know that she couldn’t, and if Valkyrie walked away, there was nothing she could do? “He can be your partner in all things, but I… I can’t ride with you.” Furiosa’s mind stilled as she realized that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t about Max. Not really.

She stayed where she was as Max stepped forward. He clearly was fighting to offer Valkyrie something, but he seemed unsure. She could see his mind working, which was good, because Furiosa’s felt frozen. Watching him think did help though. She could see that he hadn’t taken this as any threat to separate him from herself. Valkyrie wanted to feel like part of the team, not separate one. She felt like an outsider. Furiosa was sure they never used her inability to fight alongside them against her. Despite the pain it caused Furiosa, it had also been a point of relief, that Valkyrie would always be safe. That if she lost Max on the field, she didn’t lose everything. Valkyrie missed it. Furiosa understood, but at the same time… there was a certain hardness to being in a domestic relationship with a man you’ve seen in battle, who you almost watched die up close in person on several occasions, who you looked upon as your life drained away just when you’d accomplished freedom.

Furiosa practically rushed forward to embrace Valkyrie. She was so relieved when Val hugged her bag. She would have been concerned by the intensity of the woman’s response if she hadn’t been so still and unresponsive a moment earlier. She pressed her forehead tight against the woman’s, so show she recognized the intensity nonetheless, to acknowledge and remind her of her importance to her.

“I have you here, Val. Always.” She tried to explain. “And you help me through the day to day. And you warm my bed each night. You remind me of what’s good in the world, of the Green Place, of everything I fight for. You know I love Max. But he… There are things even he can’t do.”

“And.” Max finally spoke. He made an awkward noise, making the two of them look at him. He shifted almost nervously under their gaze. “There are things. Things you could…” He lifted his eyes to Val. “give me too. That she…” He tilted his head at Furiosa and moved closer. He touched her cheek, and Furiosa automatically moved into that touch. “We, we were forged together in fire. In blood.” She nodded at his words, which were coming with some difficulty. “You have my trust.” He said to her. “My loyalty. My…” She could suddenly feel his fingers like fire against her cheek, where he had left his hand. She understood, and let him know with a small nod. He made eye contact to let her know he saw, but then they dropped.

“But fire and blood. It’s not always easy. Or good.” And his eyes rose again, to check her reaction. Furiosa gave him a smile this time, to let him know she understood, even sometimes felt the same. He nodded and let his hand fall away, so her cheek suddenly felt cold.

Max looked to Val then and set his shoulders. “But. Hn.” He ever so slightly shook his head. Furiosa found herself suddenly smiling ever so slightly at his demeanor. “If you let me in…” He lifted his hand. It was quite asking for Valkyrie to take it, but it was definitely an invitation of sorts. The movement drew her eyes to Val’s face, looking for her reaction. Val looked to each of them in turn before giving a nervous, slightly relieved, laugh. She ducked her head for a moment before saying, “It helps. I still wish I could go with you tomorrow. But it helps.”

Max moved his arm again, drawing their attention. This time, it was more clearly an invitation. He was putting himself out there, asking Valkyrie to let him in. They spent a lot of time together, but Furiosa finally felt the gulf between them. She was what they had in common. Had they done anything just the two of them? She found herself holding her breath, suddenly wanting more than anything for the two of them to also find with each other what she had with them.

Valkyrie reached out to take his hand, a look of bewilderment on her face. When their hands clasped, Max pulled her into his arms, eliciting a sound of surprise from Val. Furiosa helped catch the woman as she collided into them, unable to keep up with the momentum alone. This was followed by an almost unintentional laugh of near delight from Valkyrie that warmed Furiosa. She felt Max move and somehow just knew where to move Val.

A moment later, they were a heap on the bed, limbs entwined, with Valkyrie in the middle for probably the first time. Valkyrie was laughing. She sounded happy but also embarrassed. Furiosa supposed it would take her some time. She would just be happy she was opening up; that they were opening up to each other.

As she quieted, Val said in her embarrassment, “I really didn’t mean to cause any trouble.” Furiosa moved so that she could look the woman full in the face. She squeezed Max’s hand, a silent thank you for doing all the right things.

“Of course you didn’t.” Furiosa reassured her. “But I’m glad you did.” She searched Valkyrie’s eyes and saw that there was still a hint of uncertainty there, of embarrassing at causing any drama. “You two are the most important people in the world to me.” Furiosa insisted. She wanted her to understand that she didn’t cause drama. Her wanting her needs met was not an inconvenience. “I’ve experienced losing both of you, and I know I can barely live without you. I know you both came together because of me, but if I’m going to get to have both of you, you need to have each other as well.” She looked at Max for a moment and saw that he was paying attention, saw that this mattered to him too. “It’s the only way this will work.” She’d looked back to Val. “So please. Always trouble me.”

“Us.” Max added. He gave a curt nod, as if to punctuate the word. It relieved Furiosa more than she knew that this seemed to matter to him as well, that he wanted Val to let him in, and more, wanted to let her in. He didn’t do that easily. She was pretty sure Val understood that this wasn’t an easy thing for him.

Valkyrie untangled an arm and lifted it to Max’s head. She held her hand there for a moment, almost reverently, before sliding her fingers into that lush hair. Furiosa’s abdomen tightened, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. It was a good one. It was nothing compared to how the next words made her feel.

“I think, I may be able to let you in.”

But it was the 'Mm' affirmative noise Max responded with that let her know this would be a particularly good evening. She made sure of that by leaning into Valkyrie’s neck and making that exact noise against the sensitive flesh here. “Mm.”


End file.
